Convertible and combinable multipurpose article of furniture and toy



H. CREUTZ CONVERTIBLE AND COMBINABLE MULTIPURPOSE Feb. 8, 1966 ARTICLE OF FURNITURE AND TOY 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Nov. 26, 1962 Feb. 8, 1966 H. CREUTZ 3,233,942

GONVERTI AND COMBINABLE MULTIPURPOSE ART LE OF FURNITURE AND TOY Filed Nov. 26, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Fig.7

mm H! United States Patent M 3,233,942 CONVERTIBLE AND COMBINABLE MULTIPUR- POSE ARTICLE OF FURNITURE AND TOY Helmut Creutz, 99/101 Monheimsallee, Aix-la-Chapelle, Germany Filed Nov. 26, 1962, Ser. No. 240,042 4 Claims. (Cl. 297463) The invention relates to a convertible and combinable multi-purpose article of furniture which can at the same time function as a toy for children from birth until they reach school age and which can be adapted to the changing requirements and desires of a child with the aid of standard elements and units, so that it can be used as a piece of furniture or be converted by simple means into a variety of different toys et cetera.

To attain this object the invention is composed of a standard unit or several such standard units connected together, with such standard unit consisting of two rectangular frames provided with bores and a crossbar provided with bores preferably extending parallel to two arms and at right angles to the two other arms of the frame displaced from the middle thereof whereby two or more boards fitted with threaded bushings in both end faces may be connected with the frames by screws, with the bores in all arms and crossbars being the same distance apart and the cross-sections of the arms and crossbars being the same. The boards can be rigidly connected with the frame either by four screws or pivoted thereto thereto by two screws.

According to a further feature of the invention it is proposed to provide through bores in the arms and crossbar in both directions and set the boards at different angular positions in relation to the planes of the connected frames, and in particular to arrange one board horizontally and another vertically.

According to another feature of the invention the boards are of the same length but of different widths, with the width of the wide boards being twice the width of the narrow boards and equal to the space between an arm and a crossbar plus twice the width of the arm. Moreover, the frames are square, and the arms and crossbars are of square cross-section with the spacing of the bores in the arms and crossbars being equal to the width of the arms and crossbars.

It is also proposed that an assembled standard unit be cubic, and the narrow boards can completely or partly fill thesmaller space of the frame and the total width of a narrow and a wide board can be equal to the length of the side of the square frames less the width of an arm. In order to enable the boards to be set at an angle to the frames which deviates from a right angle, it is proposed to arrange in each of the two end faces of the boards at least four threaded bushings, two of which are displaced from the center line for setting the boards at an angle and the spacing of the off-center or displaced threaded bushings is adapted to the spacing of the bores in the arms and crossbar, taking into consideration the angularity.

It is not only within the scope of the invention to fill the empty spaces in the frame with solid boards, but cords can also be threaded through the bores or separate rods can be inserted therein. When rods, and especially plastic rods are inserted in the bores to form a railing, it is proposed that the bores in the crossbars be somewhat smaller than the bores in the arms so as to clamp the cylindrical railing bars or rods.

With the suggestions mentioned many articles of furniture and toys can be erected. The possibility of further modifications can be increased by the additional and preferably pair-wise arrangement of straight or curved ele- Patented F eb. 8, 1966 ments and other fittings also provided with bores.

According to a further feature of the invention not only the standard units can be modified but two or more such standard units can be interconnected. This is effected either by screws connecting the contacting arms or crossbars of the units or by overlapping one or several boards in the frames with these boards being secured by screws engaging in the threaded bushings in the end faces between the frames of two units. According to another feature of the invention, two standard units can also be connected at an adjustable distance apart by two or more boards or similar stays, with these boards being secured by screws with their ends between the top edges of the frames of the standard units to be connected or between the side edges thereof.

Several embodiments of the invention are hereinafter described with reference to the accompanying drawings. The invention is, however, not confined to the possible modifications shown therein but further variations in the assembly and cooperation of one or more standard units are possible.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the elements of the standard unit before assembly,

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a chair and a table each composed of two standard units,

FIG. 3 illustrates in side elevation the direct connection of frames,

FIG. 4 is a view in side elevation corresponding to FIG. 2 with two standard units connected by boards,

FIG. 5 also shows the connection of the frames of two standard units by means of boards, the standard units being spaced a distance apart,

FIG. 6 is also a view in side elevation showing the connection of the frames of two standard units by means of vertical boards,

FIG. 7 shows a chair in side elevation,

FIG. 8 shows the chair illustrated in FIG. 7 turned through an angle of 90 to form a table,

FIG. 9 shows the table illustrated in FIG. 8 turned through a further angle of 90 to again form a chair.

FIG. 10 is a side elevation of a chair with a table surface,

FIG. 11 shows a chair with low seat and back rest,

FIG. 12 is a chair with seat higher than in FIG. 11 and a higher back rest,

FIG. 13 shows a chair with a seat and back rest both i being still higher than in FIGS. 11 and 12,

FIG. 14 is a my set of shelves composed of two superposed units, the side walls being partly provided with a railing,

FIG. 15 is a marionette theater,

FIG. 16 is a cot for infants,

FIGS. 17 and 18 show a small childs folding chair,

FIG. 19 is a walking chair,

FIG. 20 is a rocking chair,

FIG. 21 is a mobile chair,

FIG. 22 is a wheelbarrow, with the runners of the structures shown in FIGS. 17, 18 and 19 serving as handles,

FIG. 23 represents a rickshaw or go-cart,

FIG. 24 is an automobile,

FIG. 25 is a dolls school,

FIG. 26 is a dolls chair with a table top,

FIG. 27 is a dolls bed,

FIG. 28 is a railway platform car,

FIG. 29 is a dolls pram,

FIG. 30 is a crane truck,

FIG. 31 is a street car, and

FIG. 32 is a dolls chaise.

According to FIG. 1 the furniture consists of a standard unit which is composed primarily of two frames 1 which are rectangular and preferably square and formed by interconnected arms 2, 3, 4'and 5. Crossbar 6 extends at right angles to the arms 2 and 4 and parallel to the arms 3 and 5. The crossbar is displaced to one side of the median plane so that the frame 1 hastwo spaces 7 and 3 of different Widths. The arms 2 to 5 and the crossbar 6 are provided with holes or bores 9 on all of their sides and the same are preferably of square crosssection. The spacing between the bores corresponds, according to FIG. 1, to the width ofv the square armsand crossbar. These arms and crossbar may be of solid wood or plastic and in the latter case hollow rectangular 'or square section material can be used. It is, however, likewise possible by using correspondingly thinner wall thicknesses to make the frames 1 in one piece fromsolid plastic material. The invention also comprehends building the frames 1 from hollow rails of metal, especially aluminium, and welding or cementing. such components together.

The bores are preferably, but not necessarily counter-. sunk, so that the heads of the screws for interconnecting the frames orfixing thereon the separate boards; to be later described, do not project beyond the outer surfaces; To prevent such projection, the bores could also be arranged in a groove such as shown in the exposed surfaceof the arm 3 in FIG. 1. The invention also covers arranging the bores 9 in only certain of the surfaces.- For example, the bores could be omitted from the underside of the arm 4 which rests on the floor or the upwardly facing side of the arm 2. However, bores are preferably provided in all surfaces. A standard unit also come prises boards 11 and 12 and possibly boards 11a and 12a. All the boards have at least two bores provided with threaded bushings 14 in their end faces 13.

These threaded bushings may be located alongthe center line and the spacing thereof corresponds tothe spacing of the bores 9 in the frame 1 or to a multiple thereof. Preferably, however, the threaded bushings 14 are not only arranged'along the center line but may be displaced from this line as clearly shown on the end face 13 of the narrow board 12. The displaced threaded bushings, are designated by 14a and four such bushings are fitted in the end face 13. The spacing of the displaced threaded bushings likewise corresponds to or is a multiple of the spacing of the bores 9 and the threaded bushings 14 are arranged so that the boards can also be set at an angle. The boards are made of wood, plastic or a wooden plate coated with plastic and preferably colored. All of the boards 11, 12, 11a and 12a are the same length, but the board 11 is wider and preferably' twice the width of the board 12. The width of the board I 11 is equal to the space between the arm 5 and the crossbar 6 plus the widths of the arm 5 and the crossbar 6.- The width of the narrow board is such that the board fits precisely in the space 8 and the board 12 is equal to half the width of the board 11.

The boards are fixed on the frame 1 by means of screws 15, the heads of which either project or are countersunk in the frame. They may be knurled screws so that no tools are necessary for assembling and dismantling. the 7 individual parts.

FIG. 2 shows a chair and a table and the chair is reinforced by the board 11 extending horizontally and being rigidly attached to the crossbars 6 with the back rest 12a being arranged substantially vertical but inclined slightly towards the rear. The table is formed by the same frames 1 and rigidity is imparted to the assembled structure by the horizontal plates or boards 11 and the vertical plate or board 12a fixed to the crossbars 6. The upper side of the table is located slightly below the upper edge .of the arms 2 of the frames so that if the table is inverted, damage to the upper surface of the boards 11 is prevented.

FIG. 3 shows how the two frames 1 can be connected by means of screws of suitable length passing through two arms placed with their outer sides one against the other. Two frames can also be connected by boards 11jor 12 4-, in whichcase the end faces of, the board will overlap a portion of each of the two gframes. In FIG. 14 and also in the subsequent figures the end faces of the boards are always indicated by a solid line.

FIG. '5 shows that theframes 1 can likewise be connected in spaced-relationship with the end face 13 bridging the gap between ,thetwo frames. FIG. 6 shows another possibility of connecting the frames by a board arranged on edge by means of the same connecting ele-v ments.

FIGS. 7 to 32' show various articles which can be assembled from the elements and units illustrated in 'FIG;

and after being turned another: provides a chairwith a higher seat than in !FIG.. 7. FIG. 10 shows that a chair can be produced with the frames, 1 in any, position and that his immaterial whether the crossbar 6 is horizon-, tally or vertically disposed. FIGS. 10 to 12 also showvery clearly that a substantially rigid assembly of the articles of furniture, or toy units. can be attained by the vertical and horizontal arrangement of the boards and by fixing the. boards to the, two "frames by means of four screws.

7 FIG. 16 illustrates a cot for infants, composed of two standard units, that is four frames 1 and boards atthe bottom and at thev :ends, together with wheels 16 arranged on legs 17 whichare preferably mader from the same material asthe' frames. The'legs are provided with bores 9 in the same way as the parts of the frame. The elements for securing the wheels 16 on;the-legs .17 are similar to the elements. used for building the structural parts above described The sides of the frames are provided with railings.20,

and the bars of which arethreaded through the bores. A trellis or. other :network can also be stretched cross.-

wise by threading cords of different colors and preferably of plastic material through theholes and stretching the same, acrosstheopeningin criss cross fashion in the desired way. When using cylindrical rods orbars 24),the

bores 9 in the crossbars 6 are somewhat smaller than the bores in the arms. It is then possible to pass therods through the bores in the frame inia simple manner and clamp themin ;the bores in the crossbarsto prevent their accidental removal.

FIG. 17 shows a childs folding chair. It consists of two standard furniture units and twolarge. and two small intermediate boards. The units are placed one onthe other and connected by hinges. 18 so that the upper high'seat unit can befolded down about the. hinge :18 (FIG. 18) when the lower unit becomes the chair {and the upper unit the table surface. Attached runners 19,

which may be a tube or the like .of the desired cross-sec-v tion and made from the same material as the arms of the frame, are preferably provided with removable wheels 21 attheir ends. FIGS. 17 and 18 .also show a special board with an aperture for receiving a chamber-pot 22 and it is obvious that the intermediate'boards can be displaced according to the .size of the child and the amount of space required, withoutdetaching the standardunits. This is also an important "feature. of the in vention.

FIG. 19 is a toddlers chair provided with.a hammock strap 23. In FIG. 20, the: runners Hare-arranged in a different position. According to FIG. 21, thelwheels 16 can be mounted directly on the frame 1 using the same fixing elements as those described above because the runners, legs and the like all have bores of the same diameter and arranged at uniform distances apart corresponding to the thickness of the constructional elements.

The runners 19 can also be used as handles and serve as a mounting for the wheel 16 of a wheelbarrow, as shown in FIG. 22, with the same frames 1 being used. A comparison of FIGS. 22 and 23 shows very clearly the many possible ways in which the same elements can be used, with FIG. 23 being a toy rickshaw and FIG. 24 a toy automobile.

FIGS. 25 to 32 show further possible ways of assembling the elements, which it is not necessary to discuss in detail. It is however important to see that in all the constructions only few boards are necessary for reinforcement. These are always arranged horizontally and vertically, or substantially so, and other surfaces which do not carry any load can be formed by inserting railing bars or cords so that with but few building elements an article can be erected which is very attractive.

In addition to the articles shown, doll cradles, sport cars, cots, houses, toy shops, sets of shelves, shop counters, market stands, animal cages, circus vans or lorries, clearing ramps, omnibuses, locomotives, steam rollers, tractors, tip-carts, goods cars, climbing steps and a toy school bench with a desk and blackboard, et cetera may be erected. As the examples show, the advantage of the invention lies in the fact that the same can be dismantled, adjusted and combined for the many purposes above mentioned. The structural parts are very easy to manufacture and in addition require little space for transporting and storing. This is of advantage not only to the users but also to the trade.

When a child has reached an age at which no interest exists in erecting the toys, the assembled elements can be used as bookshelves or as other items for storing articles. When using the invention as a toy, accessories such as pedal-operated gears, steerable front axles, turntables, links and the like can be added and the seats and backrests can be upholstered or padded.

The invention is not to be confined to any strict conformity to the showings in the drawings but changes or modification may be made therein so long as such changes or modifications mark no material departure from the spirit and scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. A convertible and combinable multi-punpose article of furniture and a toy comprising at least one standard unit comprised of two square frames, each frame being defined by four arms having bores therethrough and a cross bar extending parallel to two of said arms and at right angles to the other two arms displaced from the middle thereof, said cross bar having bores therethrough, said arms having horizontal and vertical portions, at least two boards having end faces, said boards being of two different widths, the wider boards being twice the width of the narrower boards and equal to the distance between an arm of the frame and the cross bar plus twice the width of the arm, the spacing of the bores in the cross bar being equal to the width of an arm or cross bar, threaded bushings in said end faces, said arms and cross bar of each frame having a square cross-section with the bores thereof being arranged the same distance apart, the bores of said arms extending both horizontally and vertically of said horizontal and vertical portions of said arms, and screws cooperable with the requisite bores of the frames and the threaded bushings of the boards for connecting the boards to the frames to provide the desired article.

2. Article according to claim 1, wherein the standard unit is cubic in shape, the narrow board filling the small space in the frame and the total width of a narrow board plus a wide board being equal to the side length of the square frame less the width of an arm.

3. Article according to claim 1, wherein at least four threaded bushings are fitted in each of the end faces of the boards, two of said bushings being displaced from the center line for the purpose of setting the boards at an angle, the spacing of the threaded bushings being substantiaily equal to or a multiple of the spacing of the bores in the arms.

4. The article as claimed in claim 1, further including means for hingedly connecting at least two said units, a pair of runners having bores therethrough connected to the frames by screws lodged in aligned bores of said frames and runners, an apertured board having end faces, threaded bushings in said end faces receiving screws passing through the desired bores in said frames for securing the apertured board to the frames.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS D. 147,581 9/ 1947 Coulter 2973 X 202,046 4/ 1878 Perley 297-123 X 571,583 11/ 1896 Thomas 297-1 902,395 10/ 1908 Haley 297-3 908,777 1/ 1909 Klein 46-15 1,299,366 4/ 1919 McLaren 2971 1,511,124 10/ 1924 Hart 4615 X 2,515,527 7/ 1950 Robinson 297-345 X 2,597,860 5/ 1952 Gerber. 2,709,479 5/ 1955 R-ieger 297-3 2,941,580 6/1960 Selonek 297118 2,988,844- 6/1961 Frimberger 297-443 X FOREIGN PATENTS 166,180 10/1952 Australia.

133,862 6/1933 Austria. 1,074,345 3/ 1954 France. 1,282,368 12/ 1911 France.

59,428 10/ 1891 Germany.

312,094 5/ 1929 Great Britain.

345,081 3/ 1931 Great Britain.

269,175 11/1929 Italy.

CLAUDE A. LE ROY, Primary Examiner.

FRANK B. SHERRY, CHANCELLOR E. HARRIS,

Examiners.

A. FRANKEL, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A CONVERTIBLE AND COMBINABLE MULTI-PURPOSE ARTICLE OF FURNITURE AND A TOY COMPRISING AT LAST ONE STANDARD UNIT COMPRISED OF TWO SQUARE FRAMES, EACH FRAME BEING DEFINED BY FOUR ARMS HAVING BORES THERETHROUGH AND A CROSS BAR EXTENDING PARALLEL TO TWO OF SAID ARMS AND AT RIGHT ANGLES TO THE OTHER TWO ARMS DISPLACED FROM THE MIDDLE THEREOF, SAID CROSS BAR HAVING BORES THERETHROUGH, SAID ARMS HAVING HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL PORTIONS, AT LEAST TWO BOARDS HAVING END FACES, SAID BOARDS BEING OF TWO DIFFERENT WIDTHS, THE WIDER BOARDS BEING TWICE THE WIDTH OF THE NARROWER BOARDS AND EQUAL TO THE DISTANCE BETWEEN AN ARM OF THE FRAME AND THE CROSS BAR PLUS TWICE THE WIDTH OF THE ARM, THE SPACING OF THE BORES IN THE CROSS BAR BEING EQUAL TO THE WIDTH OF AN ARM OR CROSS BAR, THREADED BUSHINGS IN SAID END FACES, SAID ARMS AND CROSS BAR OF EACH FRAME HAVING A SQUARE CROSS-SECTION WITH THE BORES THEREOF BEING ARRANGED THE SAME DISTANCE APART, THE BORES OF SAID ARMS EXTENDING BOTH HORIZONTALLY AND VERTICALLY OF SAID HORIZONTAL AND VERTICAL PORTIONS OF SAID ARMS, AND SCREWS COOPERABLE WITH THE REQUISITE BORES OF THE FRAMES AND THE THREADED BUSHINGS OF THE BOARDS FOR CONNECTING THE BOARDS TO THE FRAMES TO PROVIDE THE DESIRED ARTICLE. 